InnerTeub

My uncle died a few weeks ago. It was sad (horrific, unimaginable, tragic) but not necessarily unexpected. He was diagnosed with cancer last April and it was up and down until it was mostly down, and then, as these things go, it was over.

I liked my uncle quite a lot, and I’m sad for many reasons that this has happened, but the thing that I can’t shake is how terrible it is for my grandmother; this is the third child she has buried and, I mean, I get that it’s not really the quantity of loss that makes my uncle’s death sadder than other untimely losses, but… no one should have to bury any children, let alone have to suffer the gut punch of losingthree.

Anyway. At the risk of this turning into an entry detailing exactly how deeply his loss will cut across those who love him (his wife, his goddaughter, his three remaining siblings, etc), I’d rather share one story about my uncle that I heard at the funeral that has had me smiling for a few days: his coworker was describing my uncle’s last performance review at work. Performance reviews are (in my experience and certainly for lawyers, which my uncle was) an opportunity to talk at great length about one’s accomplishments, and to go on and on in order to really hammer home the point of one’s talent and brilliance and all around value.

My uncle, for his review, simply wrote: “Mike Pescatello: What A Guy”

Indeed.